Beefed Up: Beefy Ravioli Bake

Another fantastic recipe find is Beefy Ravioli Bake.  This recipe has everything you need for a quick, crowd-pleasing, weeknight meal.

1 pound ground beef, crumbled and fully cooked
1 bag frozen cheese ravioli, still frozen
1 - 1.5 jars marinara sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix ground beef, frozen ravioli, some of the mozzarella cheese, and enough marinara sauce to cover the mixture.  Place in a large greased casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese, and bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly/golden.  Serve warm.

IT REALLY IS THAT EASY. Serve it with garlic bread and salad, and you have a super easy weeknight meal.

Beefy Ravioli Bake is something you can always keep on hand by stocking your pantry with jarred sauce, your freezer with frozen ravioli and beef you have already cooked, and your refrigerator with cheese.

There are so many variations on this - Brown your beef with onions, add some chopped spinach to the mix, eliminate the beef to make it vegetarian (and less expensive per serving), try a different style of ravioli, or try a different type of pasta sauce. - to name a few.

Beefy Ravioli Bake is also a great meal to serve to a large crowd or to take to a friend or family who needs a meal.

If you are seeking a simple, budget friendly, hearty, quick, crowd-pleasing, keep-on-hand, and/or make-ahead meal, try this easy recipe.

I actually ate this at a party before going into labor with our second born, and it was SO GOOD.  I couldn't keep it off my mind. So much so that a few days after delivery I had to call the hostess and ask for the recipe right then and there.

Breakfast Yumminess: Sausage Rounds

I picked up this unique recipe from a friend in Dallas years ago.  I had never seen a recipe quite like it before or since.  We have used this hearty recipe for many parties, and it is always a crowd pleaser.

Sausage Rounds

1 can flaky buttermilk biscuits
2 cups grated Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
1 lb sausage, cooked and drained
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, cooked and grated
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease muffin tins. Divide biscuit into thirds by separating the layers of the raw biscuit dough.  Place each third into a muffin cup. Mix remaining ingredients together. Place one heaping tablespoon of mixture into each muffin cup over biscuit dough.  Bake 25 minutes.

Makes 24 Sausage Rounds

My friend says that these freeze well for a quick breakfast - ours never make it as far as the freezer.   I have used reduced fat sausage many times in the recipe, and it definitely seems to keep the rounds from being quite so heavy.

      

Looking for more creative breakfast ideas?  Check out this cookbook which has been a staple in our household for the past 15 years.  The lemon ricotta pancake recipe is amazing!

Mailed It! Eliminating Pests from Your Mailbox

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No Wasps or Roaches in Your Mailbox

This spring/summer we had some unwelcome guests in our mailbox - other than bills.  A family of wasps had decided that our large mailbox was the perfect home.  We did not agree.

Going to check the mail became a bit of an action/horror movie event, filled with suspense.  Would the wasps swarm us as we reached for our junk mail? Would they fly into the open window of our trucks and terrorize the kiddos before we could get everyone out of their car seats and evacuate the car?

We developed interesting techniques for checking the mail. So interesting that if anyone saw us (good thing we live in the woods) they probably would have thought that we had lost.our.minds. Seriously.

After weeks of debate of whether or not to spray the box and then have the mail we brought into the house (and that our kiddos spread around) covered in toxic pesticides, we decided enough was enough.  I looked online for an essential oil remedy that would eliminate wasps without exposing our family to the secondary threat of nasty chemicals.

It was hard to find much information online about wasp repellent made with essential oils. I found one recipe for a kind of similar situation, but I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand.  So I improvised.  I pulled out my peppermint and lemon essential oils and invested in a $1 bag of cotton balls.  I doused each cotton ball heavily in peppermint oil and in lemon oil and tossed the cotton balls into the mailbox. I used three cotton balls.

The next time we checked the mail, the wasps had checked out of 'Hotel de Mailbox' and found a new home elsewhere.  We also had minty fresh smelling mail for a week or two.  Eventually the minty fresh smell subsided, but the wasps have stayed away all summer.  Yay!

A month or so after our success, my parents complained of roaches appearing in their mailbox.  After seeing our success, I quickly took the oils and cotton balls to their house.  My mom was concerned the mail person would think the cotton balls were a bomb (which has actually happened before, but that is another story for another day... okay, it was one of those national weather service balloons that randomly land and whoever finds it has to return it by dropping it in a mailbox).  The other concern was that they would complain about the strong odor.  Well, none of the above happened - no bomb concerns, no complaints over odor.  BUT, what did happen is that the roaches disappeared.

So, in summary, if you want to rid your mailbox or other small area of insect activity without industrial chemicals, try dousing cotton balls in peppermint and lemon essential oils. If you only have peppermint oil, try that by itself.

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No Wasps or Roaches in Your Mailbox

LEGO Heaven: Turning Seven

Our oldest is turning seven soon, and he loves Legos - who doesn't though, really?

We decided to throw a Lego themed party.  Here is how we brought the Lego theme to life:

1.  Decorate with Legos.  

Pretty basic, right?  We used MegaBlocks to spell his name and make the decor for our mantle. To ensure the "V" didn't fall apart, I secured the back of the blocks with a couple of strips of clear (Scotch) tape.  Use some wider blocks at the base for a good foundation. Our kiddos were super excited to wake up one morning and find this on the mantle.  The kids jumped in on the fun and built several other Lego names and sculptures to add around the house.  It was a fun project for the week.

We also surrounded our flatware holder in Legos to add to the theme. You can add your child's name for an extra special touch.  If you don't have a flatware holder, make one using only Legos.  Make one for each item - one for forks, one for spoons, etc.

"Le-go" of your inner master builder and run wild with fun decorating projects.

And, we used some of the chunky MegaBlocks in the open base of the cake stands. You can see those in one of the following pictures.

We happened to also have Lego mugs handy for the coffee, Lego shaped Lego containers on the book shelves, and a Lego lantern to add to the buffet.

2. Play "Pin the Head on the Lego Man."

I found this great activity online at East Coast Mommy Blog.  While I wanted my Lego man to look a bit different, the blog does offer templates if you don't want to freehand your Lego man.  For our Lego man, I used a standard piece of blue posterboard.  I drew the Lego man out with a Sharpie marker.  We painted the red using washable paint, and I made the hands from yellow construction paper - the same paper from which I made the heads.  The Lego logo was made out of cardstock and Sharpie markers.

The kids really enjoyed this game.  Even the oldest participant (8) was skeptical and felt too cool to play in the beginning asked to join before the game was over.

3. Leave out some Legos for the kids to play. 

It is a Lego party, right? I thought only the little kids would play with the MegaBlocks, but before the party was over, a crew of kids ages four to seven were building this structure together.

4. Make Lego cupcakes.

Originally, I planned to make a Lego brick cake - two standard sheet cakes layered with the end trimmed off for the block and using the extra cake to cut into circles for the top dots, icing everything in red. However, I realized that is A LOT of red icing (i.e. A LOT of red dye to be spread throughout our house and clothing by little hands), SO I decided to make cupcakes.

I used store bought cake mix and frosting for the cupcakes.  To make the Legos, I bought a multipack of fondant sheets from our local Wal-Mart (roughly $9 before tax).  I used kitchen scissors to cut the rectangles for the blocks, and I used our (washed) single hole punch to make the six dots for each "block."  To attached the dots, I put a small dot of icing between the rectangle and dot.  You can use matching icing or the same color like I did.  I also wrote the birthday boy's name on the top cupcakes using the same styling as the Lego logo.

I did notice that the fondant bricks were beautifully stiff and had that Lego look when I put them on each cupcake, but by morning, the "bricks" had taken on some moisture and settled more into each cupcake. Everyone still seemed impressed, and it was still clear that these were Legos.

5. Make a Lego pinata.

I found this idea online also at Little Family Fun.

The pinata was easy to make. I used a diaper box that had held two packs of diapers. It seemed to have the best Lego shape out of our collection of diaper boxes.  I filled it with a large, mixed bag of Halloween candy (Nerds, SweetTarts, Bottlecaps), a 484 count box of Classic Legos, and a large tub of soft peppermints (Bob's brand).  The filling cost about $50 ($30 for the Legos, $10 for the mixed candy, $5.88 for the peppermints, and tax).  I used masking tape to secure the box, and American Greetings brand wrapping paper from Wal-Mart to wrap the box.

Definitely follow the suggestion at Little Family Fun of using styrofoam cup tops and card stock for the dots.  I used the wrapping paper and multiple foam stickers, which did not make for a completely "finished" look although it got the job done.  The inside ring of the masking tape roll was the perfect size and template for the dots.

To figure out which kiddo got a crack at it first, we took inspiration from Little Family Fun.  I cut construction paper into rectangles, drew on the dots, and wrote a number on the back of each card with a marker (Be sure to draw a line under the "6" and "9" to prevent confusion.). We mixed the numbers up and handed a Lego "brick" to each kiddo who wanted to take a swing at the pinata.

Each child was given a goody bag for when the pinata broke.  This activity was both a game and a way to pass out favors all in one.  We wrote each child's name on their number card to go into their goody bag to eliminate any confusion about the owner of each goody bag.

It was very hard to bust the pinata open.  A cardboard box is thicker than a traditional pinata. On the plus side, everyone got a turn to swing at pinata both in the traditional blindfolded way and the free-for-all-swing-a-thon that occurred after.

We also found that we should have purchased an eye mask for the blindfold since we had two games involving blindfolds at our party, and blindfolding each child with a scarf is time consuming and difficult.



So, I may have taken the idea of "a simple Lego party" at home farther than I planned, but everyone (especially the eight and under crowd) seemed to have a lot of fun.  Our kiddos had a great time building and making decorations for the party the whole week beforehand.

To see even better ideas, check out Buzzfeed's excellent list here:  How to Throw the Ulitmate Lego Birthday Party

        

Eggs-cellent

When we first moved back home, we thought it would be neat to get some chickens.  We had considered having chickens in our backyard in Dallas after taking the annual "A Peep at the Coops" tour in our area, but the idea didn't gain much ground.  Neither of us had owned chickens before, and the project seemed daunting.

As soon as we knew we were moving back to Louisiana, we started researching small, mobile coops, thinking it would be nice for the kids to experience.  However, the chicken excitement took hold of all of us- okay, maybe not my dad.  Within a month of moving back, we had chickens.  So much for waiting.    Luckily, my mother had some experience with chickens and relished the idea of them living in a section of her super large garden.  We all had a blast watching our four Buff Orpington ladies peck around, eat chicken scraps, and just live life.  We all bought chicken boots, and the kids had a real life petting zoo in the backyard.  We soon realized taking care of four chickens is about the same as taking care of many, many more.  Our operation began to grow and become "an operation."

Here's what we've learned so far and the answers to some frequently asked questions:

• Just like dogs, there are breeds of chickens, each with their own distinct characteristics.  Check out MyPetChicken for the full scoop. 
• You do NOT need a rooster in order for your hens to lay eggs.
• Chickens lay a maximum of ONE egg per day, but some days, they do not lay any.  Different breeds lay at different frequencies.
• Chickens CAN eat scraps.  Here is my "go-to" website for a list of acceptable scraps.  Note: One time I fed our ladies a LOT of leftover baked fish, and the scrambled eggs soon after tasted fishy to me although no one else noticed.
• Chicken sleep on roosting bars in the coops, not in the nesting boxes, usually.  
• Unwashed eggs can sit on your counter for about a month, safely.  Once an egg is washed, it's "bloom" is removed, and you should refrigerate it.  Above is a picture of our unwashed eggs on display.  There is something satisfying about seeing your freshly collected eggs on the counter.
• We wash our eggs in warm water, dry them well, and then refrigerate the eggs.
• If you do get a rooster, you will not necessarily have chicks.  We let one of our hens sit on her eggs for a month, with no results.  Online research found that today's chickens aren't exactly in touch with the way to properly sit on the eggs, thus the need for an incubator.
• We have bought chicks before, but the wait for eggs to arrive is very, very long...and chicks can be very, very messy.  Knowing these things does not necessarily keep us from buying chicks - they are super cute.  Know that many states require that you buy a minimum number of chicks. In Louisiana and Arkansas, that number is six.  Why? To curtail buying chicks at Easter as pets, pets that would probably have a very short life.  Also, chicks like to huddle, sharing their body heat to ensure a better chance of survival. When I was a kid, you could buy dyed chicks on the side of the road around Easter.  Seemed neat at the time, but, as an adult, I see the many concerns with that practice.

There are many, many books on keeping Backyard Chickens.  You only have to do a quick search on Amazon.com for Backyard Chickens to see the many options available.

Before you know it, you may chicken out just like us.

Going Bananas (One Family's Fascination with Their Yonanas Maker)

A couple of years ago, we went bananas.  My parents gave us a Yonanas maker for Christmas.  I had seen these advertised, with their promise of "healthy" and "easily homemade" frozen treats...but I balked at the $50 priced.  I tried emulating the results using a relatively new blender - let's just say that didn't go well and that I am thankful my husband could fix it.  I tried seeking it out on my local Freecycle group - no luck there.  So, with a big sigh, I shelved my hopes for another day.

THEN, Christmas came, with family members asking for ideas.  Guess what made the list? A Yonanas maker.  At $50, I couldn't justify buying something we may or may not use, but it seemed to be the perfect Christmas item.

Christmas Eve, we unwrapped a brand new Yonanas.  We, of course, wanted to try it out immediately, but we didn't have any frozen fruit on hand, and the grocery stores would be closed Christmas Day (which is a good thing).  BUT, we still couldn't use our gift.  December 26th found us in the frozen section of the grocery store, plundering all the frozen fruit.  We also raided the banana aisle, but that was more disappointing since the bananas were mostly green.  The instructions are clear: You MUST freeze bananas that are so ripe that they already have "cheetah spots."  Bummer!  We pressed on nonetheless, processing our selection of frozen fruit, judging which we liked best and which didn't make the cut.  All the while, we watched our bananas like hawks waiting for the "cheetah spots" to appear.  When the bananas were finally ripe enough, we peeled all qualified candidates and gleefully tossed them into a Ziploc bag in the freezer.  And then we waited, again. (!)  The bananas must freeze 24 hours before you can use them.  And, then, they must thaw for about 10 minutes before you run them through the machine.

I make this sound like the process was difficult and long, but, really, it wasn't at all.  We were just antsy.

Now, I buy bananas by the bunches and toss the overripe bananas in a predetermined "banana bag" in the freezer as their time comes up. By "banana bag," know that I mean a gallon Ziploc bag with "Bananas" scribbled on it in Sharpie marker, a bag which is frequently emptied and refilled.

When it's time for a family treat, we pull out our Yonanas, let our bananas begin thawing/softening, and crank up the machine for some fun.

This has been especially great for our family as we have tried various exclusion diets this year in an effort to pin point some problematic allergens.  Yonanas are gluten/wheat free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, and soy free.  They are tasty and fun.  We like to customize ours with marshmallows, nuts, chocolate chips and more.  We also like to blend in Oreos for a Cookies N' Cream blend - a favorite of the hubs.

Deer Me!!: Deer Bacon Burger Meatballs

Pregnancy craving: Meatballs
Solution: Look to the freezer full of deer bacon burger mix

This was my first attempt, and I used a stand by meatball recipe with minor adjustments.

2 lbs Deer Bacon Burger Mix
1 cup Parmesan Romano Cheese Blend
1 cup Plain Bread Crumbs
2 Large Eggs
1 tbsp Olive Oil, or oil you have on hand. I used a mix with grapeseed.
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Minced Garlic

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Thaw meat. Mix dry ingredients - cheese, bread crumbs, Italian Seasoning.  Add wet ingredients to dry mixture.  Mix together well by hand.  Form into tablespoon sized balls.  Cook for 12 minutes or until meat is cooked through.  Optional: Simmer cooked meatballs in marinara sauce before serving.  Serve over pasta, subs, or some other fun way.

Makes approximately 60 meatballs.


So my least favorite part of meatballs and meatloaf are the messy hands after mixing.  That is the moment when I really appreciate my Delta Touch faucet.  It was a splurge early in the building process before the budget started to crunch.  The Delta Touch faucets don't always work. Our plumber installed three, and ours was the only one that worked out of that initial batch.  I understand Delta is great about replacing the non-working units, and, more than likely, they probably have many of those kinks worked out now.  Ours has been installed for about a year and a half, with no problems.  The best part is watching our friends and family figure out how to work it.  When we had our reunion last summer, our whole group snickered while watching the last person to arrive trying to operate it.

See all of the Delta Touch Faucet options on Amazon: delta touch faucet

Mama Said Knock You Out: Pinata Party for Gender Reveal

At the end of last year, we found out that our family is growing again. Our newest addition is due in August!  We were all thrilled!!

So, after you find out you are expecting, then comes the big decision of whether or not to find out the baby's gender.  Finding out the gender before birth is still a relatively new idea, but most couples choose to do so.  And, lately, everyone is getting more and more creative than just letting the ultrasound technician share the information.

We chose not to find out the gender with our first two kiddos. We were surprised with a boy, and then we were surprised with a girl.  Our little guy wanted a brother so badly last time that we decided to find out the gender before delivery.  When he bit into the cupcake and found it was filled with pink icing, he proudly said "I'm going to have another sister!"  Maybe the sugar rush helped break the news.  Either way, he is an outstanding big brother and has been enamored with his littlest sister since her birth.

So, what to do this time??  Find out? Not find out?  From the beginning of the pregnancy, I was confident this baby was a boy.  No morning sickness just like with our son.  With the girls, I was nauseous a lot.  Since I was so confident, my mom encouraged me to find out just in case I was wrong, so we decided to find out.

How to find out?  Since it just isn't en vogue to have the ultrasound technician/doctor/midwife tell you anymore, we tried to think of an option with pizzazz that would fit our family.  Our sweet boy suggested cupcakes again or a pinata.  Pinata!  What a great idea!

We bought our pinata at Wal-Mart, picked up a few bags of Easter candy, pink and blue glow-in-the-dark bracelets, and "It's a Boy!/It's a Girl!" ribbon.  I sorted the candy into pink and blue bags and added the appropriate bits of ribbon and unopened glow bracelets.  Since the candy pieces were still a bit multicolored, we didn't want any confusion about the gender when the pinata was burst.  I had heard a story about a volcano used to reveal the gender and how the pink lava came out red, leaving the siblings confused as to whether they were getting a brother or sister.

During our ultrasound, we were careful to tell the ultrasound technician that we did not want to know the gender.  She placed the revealing pictures in a sealed envelope, which we took to the person stuffing our pinata.  Stuffing the pre-made pinata was pretty easy and we were able to wait while it was filled.  We asked the stuffer to keep the unused bag of candy/ribbon/light up bracelets.

That night we gathered our parents, munched on some Mexican food for dinner, and then let each of our kiddos take a swing at the pinata, from youngest to oldest.  We took lots of pictures and videos, and everyone had a great time.

In review, the steps for a gender reveal pinata party:

1. Buy your supplies - pinata, candy, small pink/blue toys, and pink and blue ribbon. Don't feel the need to over do it on the candy.  You just need enough that everyone gets some and knows what the gender is. Pinata options on Amazon: pinata
2. Separate your supplies into two distinctive bags to give your designated pinata stuffer.
3. At your ultrasound appointment, ask the technician to keep the good hidden and to place any revealing pictures in the envelope.  This means you will need to look away from the screen during some parts of the ultrasound.  Remind any medical professional you see during your appointment that you do not want to know the gender.  We had lots of practice with this prior to the delivery of our first two kiddos.
4. Take the pinata, two bags, and sealed envelope to your designated stuffer.  He/she may need some tape to seal the pinata.  Ours just happened to have gold duct tape - sweet!  Prior to stuffing, ask the stuffer to keep the unused bag out of sight.  Also, give him/her any instructions about items in the bags.  For us, we needed to specify what to do with those little connector pieces that go on the glow-in-the-dark bracelets.
5. Take your pinata and re-sealed envelope home, and don't peek!  
6. Plan a Mexican themed meal.  We had chicken enchiladas, salad, and strawberries with whipped cream over Angel food desert cups.
7. Find a place to hang your pinata.  We had the two grandfathers hold a piece of conduit pipe from each end.  We also used a piece of twine to get the pinata to the right length and give it a bit of swing.
8. One at a time, blindfold participants, spin them around three times, give them a a bat - we used a plastic Little Tikes bat, and let them swing three times each.  We went youngest to oldest and let our oldest finish it out. He was super duper excited to bust that pinata.
9. See what you have and celebrate a new life!!

And did you want to know what OUR pinata revealed??

So much for my morning sickness theory!!  Maybe, for me, it has more to do with the time of year I experience my first trimester.  With our firstborn and this one, both of the first trimesters were around November/December/January.  With the girls, it was more June/July/August, which are hot, hot, hot months where we live.

He's a great big brother, and he found out about his third little sister with candy - that never hurts.  :)


Find gender reveal party supplies on Amazon.com: gender party

A Bunch of Suckers: Our Favorite Vacuums

Vacuums.  We love our vacuums at Hall's Homestead.  With three small kiddos (one recently liberated from the high chair), two big indoor/outdoor farm dogs, living in the woods, and two eczema suffers with very flaky skin; we really appreciate hard working vacuums.

We have three.  Now, wait, that may sound crazy, but we have one regular upright, one handheld, and one robotic vacuum.  Each serves their own purpose.

• The traditional upright is perfect for jobs that are big and need to be done quickly.  I also like that the extension hose lets us reach nooks and crannies and high places like air intake vents.
• The handheld is great for the car (lots of crumbs in car seats), quick jobs, and, my absolute favorite part, the kids can use it.  Our one year old wields our handheld with increasing efficiency for which I am very thankful. 
• And, last, but not least, the robotic vacuum.  This compact guy gets under beds, brushes dust bunnies from the baseboards, and takes his time deep cleaning. 

Together, they make our dream clean team.  And, yes, the dogs often volunteer their services should a tasty crumb be overlooked.

So which vacuum brands and models do we use? What kind of floors do we have?

Let's start with the second question.  We currently have concrete and vinyl plank floors with large rugs (8'x12').  We have used the upright on wood floors and tile at our previous home, and we have used the robotic vacuum on carpeted floors during our time of transition.

Now, let's review our dream team line up:

THE UPRIGHT

Shark Navigator

When we needed to replace our last upright, we debated if it was the time to plunge in and ante up the money for a Dyson - which our friends raved about.  At the end of the day, we chose the budget friendly Shark featuring the same technology as the Dyson.  We took a chance, used a coupon, and never looked back. 

We still enjoy our Shark Navigator today.  It's a snazzy pale purple color, and it has an air filter (like most uprights these days), AND it has the "never lose suction" Dyson-style technology.  It works well in carpet mode for our rugs or in hard floor mode for our concrete and vinyl plank floors.  The hose and extensions work well for hard to reach places.  The brush attachment tackles upholstery just fine.  All in all, it has been a good fit for our family, even before pets and when we had tile and hard wood floors (and just one child). 

 

This appears to be the newer model of our Shark Navigator.

 

 

THE HANDHELD

Black and Decker Dust Buster

This is the traditional and popular option for this category.  It's the experienced candidate.  Our Dust Buster tackles small rocks, dirt piled in rubber floor mats, crumbs in the crannies of car seats, spilt baking soda, Christmas tree needles, shredded cheese, crushed Cheerios and goldfish, and all of the typical suspects.  The canister washes clean, and the unit is light enough for our one year old to tote it.  Note, that if you plan to dust bust for a long time (for instance a deep clean on a Ford Expedition), you may need to let it recharge part way through the job.

 

This appears to be the newer model of our CHV9600. There is a wet/dry option also on Amazon, but this model has better reviews.

 

THE ROBOT

Roomba 561

 

Okay, having a robot is just plain cool.  I feel a bit like the Jetsons when I walk out of the house knowing that our robotic vacuum is cleaning the floors while we are gone.  For real. It.is.purely.awesome. 

Did I mention it does a good job in addition to being cool and fun?  We have the older (and discontinued) 561 model.  We bought it with a Groupon when we were briefly without a mortgage.  It has been a good purchase. It worked so well on carpet that we would highly recommend it for dust allergy sufferers living with carpet.  It works well on hard surface floors too, like our current concrete floors.  We also bought the upgraded pet model for my husband's parents from Costco, and it has been helpful to them over the past two years. 

 

Is it perfect? No.  Does it require a little more maintenance than our upright? Yes, but that is partially because of the smaller canister, which should be emptied after most uses.  Also, if you are OCD in the slightest, do not sit there and watch it work.  It does not cover a room in an organized pattern, but IT DOES get the floors clean.  It takes a long time. You know how it takes you a few minutes to vacuum a room?  The Roomba may take an hour to do the same room, but, in our opinion, it does a better (read more thorough) job.  We like it so much that we may splurge on a Scooba for an upcoming Christmas. 

 

Our 561 is discontinued which is both good and bad - you can find a refurbished model for a lot less than one of the current models.  See the current Roomba models and notes from other reviewers here on Amazon: roomba vacuum 

 

So, now you know, we are a bunch of suckers here at Hall Homestead - take that how you want. ;)  Best luck in your dust busting adventures.


Disclaimer: I am not an expert house cleaner nor have I played one on T.V.  If you come over to our house, do not expect spotless floors because we have three vacuums.  See the note about "three small children" at the beginning of this post - and the big dogs - and living in the woods - and flaky eczema sufferers - and, let's face it, this is the real world.  But, in all seriousness, I do hope this helps someone in their choice(s) of vacuums.